It was an unusually lively news week as tennis heads into the North American hard-court swing. The conversation around tennis is increasingly focused on the future of the sport itself. Eligibility rules, player compensation, media, tournament operations, doubles, and leadership all headline a week that highlights the challenges of balancing tradition with a rapidly changing landscape.
Women’s tennis tour introduces mandatory gene testing for eligibility: The women’s tennis tour has made it compulsory for its players to complete a one-off mandatory gene test to determine their eligibility. The testing is described as a “one-time screening process for the SRY gene” by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), which can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood sample. Full Story: The Athletic
Top tennis players target U.S. Open’s star-studded mixed doubles event in prize money push: With the start of the year’s final Grand Slam a little more than a month away, the group of top-20 players pushing for more prize money and support at the sport’s biggest tournaments is targeting the U.S. Open’s shiniest new toy: The star-studded mixed doubles tournament which now underpins its increasingly lucrative Fan Week. The USTA’s leaders are working to head off what could amount to an embarrassing partial boycott of an event for which it has already sold thousands of high-priced tickets. Full Story: The Athletic
Tennis.com lived and died with the internet: A day after the French Open ended in May, the website tennis.com shut down its editorial operation. The brand dates back to the founding of Tennis magazine in 1965, and though the mag folded in 2022, the website continued to produce news, analysis, and feature articles. At least, until after the clay season. The new site amounts to a scoreboard for ongoing tournaments with tabs for the upcoming schedule and rankings. Endure a long scroll to the bottom of the page and you’ll find a link to the news archive: all the articles on the website, still online for the moment. Full Story: Defector
Craig Tiley begins tenure as the USTA’s chief executive officer: “The USTA has created a great platform to inspire further growth in tennis participation,” Craig Tiley said on his first day on the job. “We want to work with everyone within the tennis family to grow the sport beyond what anyone thought possible.” Full Story: USTA
A tennis ball rule change trial that could have a big impact on the ATP Tour: In response to player criticism over the balls, the ATP will trial more frequent ball changes next month on the Challenger tour. New balls will be put into play initially after five games and then after every seven. Full Story: The Athletic
The future of doubles in men’s tennis is on the line: At the start of Wimbledon, doubles players met with the ATP Player Council to discuss proposals first discussed in May. They would halve the size of doubles draws at tour events and redistribute prize money from doubles to singles. Full Story: The Athletic
Capital Improvements, with Mark Ein: An interview with the Mubadala DC Open owner on marketing, doubles, Saudi offers, and more. Full Story: Bounces
Australian Open to limit cheap tickets after crowding problems: The Australian Open will place daily limits on cheap tickets to the tennis Grand Slam for the first time after long queues and crowding blighted the tournament in January. Tennis Australia said on Tuesday it would cap allocations of its A$49 ($34) “ground passes” during the first week of the main draw as they expected demand to be stronger than ever in 2027. Full Story: Reuters
The Man, the Myth, the Tennis Centenarian: Henry Mealy Has Advice for Reaching 100: Never Underestimate the Power of Good Company. Full Story: Santa Barbera Independent
Runners Are Bringing Tennis Balls on Easy Runs—and It’s Not Just for Fun: Runners are loving the tennis ball method. The simple act of dribbling and tossing around a tennis ball, it turns out, can help your running in several ways. Full Story: Runners World
Federer visits new Rafa Nadal Museum in Mallorca: Roger Federer recently returned to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca to visit the newly renovated Rafa Nadal Museum, Inside the Legend, which offers an immersive look at Nadal’s life, career and legacy. Full Story: ATP
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 7/27-8/2 | Mubadala DC Open | ATP 500 WTA 500 | United States |
| 7/27-8/1 | Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo | ATP 250 | Mexico |
| 7/27-8/2 | The Memphis Classic | WTA 250 | United States |
